FKNMS Volunteer
Program Goals
- Provide a "hands-on" opportunity for the public
to become involved in the protection and preservation of their
Sanctuary;
- Support public education and awareness
efforts on how we all may be better stewards;
- Increase
community participation in research and monitoring, education,
underwater projects, office and administrative tasks, and in
representing the Sanctuary at certain events and functions.
The
FKNMS volunteer program also strives to provide information about
relevant potential volunteer opportunities with other organizations in
the sanctuary area, when available.
FKNMS Volunteer
ProgramsFor
more information about current Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
volunteer opportunities, to learn if there are new or short term
opportunities not posted here, to inquire which programs particularly
need volunteer assistance, or to request an application, please contact
Lilli Ferguson, Sanctuary Advisory Council and Volunteer Coordinator.
She may be reached at (305) 292-0311 x245 or Lilli.Ferguson@noaa.gov
Team
O.C.E.A.N.: The
Ocean Conservation Education Action Network is an on-water educational
and information service of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
in which volunteers are stationed at popular reefs providing
information to visitors about enjoying our reefs without harming them.
For more information on Lower Keys Team O.C.E.A.N. contact: Todd Hitchins
at (305) 292-0311 x230. For more information on UPPER Keys
Team O.C.E.A.N. contact: Rewa
Maldonado at (305) 852-7717 x39 Florida
Keys Eco-Discovery Center: Volunteer
greeters/docents/activity assistants are needed to assist the staff for
half or full day shifts. For more information on volunteering at the
Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center Key West, contact Craig Wanous
at 305-809-4750.
Internships
- FKNMS and Other
There are many different opportunities for internships in the
Florida Keys. Each agency and organization has different
qualifications, requirements, application process, stipends, and
housing. If you are interested in any of the internships listed on this
site please contact the person listed on the individual position
description.
Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary
Education Staff
Assistant The Education Staff Assistant will assist
in the organization and maintenance of the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary (FKNMS) upper region education resources as well as helping
in the continuing efforts to educate the community and visitors to
South Florida about our precious environments. The intern will also
provide field assistance to FKNMS staff for both land- and water-based
projects. Island
Dolphin Care Marine Education
Internships
Island Dolphin Care is a dolphin assisted therapy and marine education
center in Key Largo. Marine Education Interns assist with the
development and implementation of curriculum at the Center as well as
in outreach settings. Internships are generally between 4-6 weeks in
length. For detailed information,
please visit the website at www.islanddolphincare.org or call
Sara Hamilton at (305) 451-5884.
Marathon
Wild Bird Center
This is a wild bird rehabilitation center located on the Crane Point
Museum and Nature Center property in Marathon, within a 64-acre
hardwood hammock. The Center has a full hospital that includes x-ray
and surgical capabilities and partner with the Marathon Veterinary
Hospital (Dr. Doug Mader, DVM). The Center rescues, rehabilitates and
releases native sick, injured and orphaned wild birds. Established in
1995, the Center now has approximately 60 permanent birds on display
for educational purposes and admits 800-1,000 birds on an annual basis.
The Center has housing, but no stipend, available for an intern and
would prefer a commitment of three or more months. Short-term
volunteers with their own housing are also welcome.
For detailed information, please visit the website at www.marathonwildbirdcenter.org
or call Kelly Grinter at (305) 743-8382.
Marathon Wild Bird Center
c/o Crane Point (Museum and Nature Center -- MM 50)
P.O. Box 501328
5550 Overseas Highway
Marathon, FL 33050" National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) NOAA offers a
few internship/scholarship/fellowship programs across the nation for
qualified graduate and undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens.
The locations of opportunities vary; some have been available in the
Florida Keys. Please refer to the NOAA Office of Education website for
more information on the Hollings Scholarship Program and the
Educational Partnership Program at http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/index.html
and for more information on Dr. Nancy Foster scholarships, please refer
to the NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program website at http://www.fosterscholars.noaa.gov/
Other Volunteer Opportunities
Adopt-A-Reef:
Organized groups of volunteer divers may plan and run their own
Adopt-A-Reef activities, removing submerged monofilament line or other
trash from reefs and wrecks. Group leaders may arrange to borrow
materials for removing debris and may obtain debris log sheets from the
sanctuary, either from the Key Largo office or the Key West office. All
types of marine debris are problematic, and depending on the type, it
may entangle, damage or kill marine life. Adopt-A-Reef groups may help
by removing hundreds or thousands of pounds of debris from reefs and
wrecks. To inquire about borrowing materials for your group's event,
contact Lilli
Ferguson, Sanctuary Advisory Council and Volunteer
Coordinator, at (305) 292-0311 ext. 245. Bleach Watch:
FKNMS and Mote Marine Laboratory are monitoring the corals in the
sanctuary for mass coral bleaching. What is coral bleaching? Coral
bleaching occurs when corals become stressed and expel the algae living
within them. The coral tissue becomes transparent and the observer can
see through the tissue to the white calcium carbonate skeleton. The
corals appear to have been bleached, but in fact can remain alive and
recover if the stressor abates. SCUBA divers and free divers can help
by reporting if they observe or do not observe bleaching after they
return home by fax, mail or on the internet. To learn how to recognize
coral bleaching, to view coral bleaching current condition reports or
to work with Mote as an observer, go to http://isurus.mote.org/Keys/bleaching.phtml
Reef
Environmental Education Foundation (REEF): REEF
is a non- profit organization that encourages recreational divers and
snorkelers to conduct fish surveys during their normal dive activities.
Surveying can be conducted year round. In addition, each year during
the month of July REEF coordinates The Great Annual Fish Count,
organizing training sessions and dive events so volunteers can collect
information on fish observed while diving in any of REEF's survey
regions (Caribbean, Florida, South Atlantic, Northeast, California,
Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Gulf of California). For
more information on the fishcount event go to www.fishcount.org
or for more information on REEF go to www.reef.org.
Friends
And Volunteers Of Refuges (FAVOR): An
all-volunteer organization supporting the 4 National Wildlife Refuges
in the Florida Keys. Volunteers can benefit from the knowledge and
experience gained, the wildlife and wildlands within the Florida Keys
Refuges will benefit from their interest and care. Opportunities to
help with habitat restoration, bookstore, trail guides and more! Check
out our website at www.favorfloridakeys.com.
For information , contact: National Key Deer Refuge Bookstore,
Phone: 305-872-0645, E-mail: webmaster@favorfloridakeys.com
Organizations
that May Need Volunteer
Assistance on a Short-Term Basis
Bahia
Honda State Park Monay Markey
Volunteer Coordinator 36850 Overseas Highway Big
Pine Key, FL 33043 305-872-2353 Crane Point Museum and Nature Center
Laura Fowler Outreach Director 5550 Overseas Highway
Marathon, FL 33050 305-743-3900 Florida
Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center, Inc. Bruce Horn Executive
Director 93600 Overseas Highway Tavernier, FL 33070
305-852-4486 Florida
State Parks [information for volunteering in all state parks]
Coordinator of Volunteer Services Bureau of Operational
Services Division of Recreation and Parks 3900
Commonwealth Blvd., MS 535 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-300
850-245-3076 Islamorada Area State Parks Melba E. Nezbed,
manager P.O. Box 1052 Islamorada, FL 33036
305-664-2540 Island Dolphin Care
Sara Hamilton,
Education Coordinator
150 Lorelane Place
Key Largo, FL 33037
305-451-5884 |
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Elena Muratori,
Coordinator P. O. Box 487 Key Largo, FL 33037
305-451-1202 Key West Wildlife Center Susan Prince,
Facility Director c/o Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park
1801 White St. Key West, FL 33040 305-292-1008 Long
Key State Park Katheryn Close, Manager P. O. Box 776
Long Key, FL 33001 305-664-4815 Pigeon
Key Foundation & Marine Science Center
Courtney Fletcher, Education Director
P.O. Box 500130
Marathon, FL 33050
(305) 289-0025
| Note: the listing
of organizations and
opportunities beyond the FKNMS is a partial list, for reference only,
of what may be currently available to potential volunteers in the
Florida Keys. |